Vein image capture apparatus

Abstract

A vein image capture device includes an illumination device, an image capture device, and a support device. The image capture device captures an image of a vein pattern of a body part by receiving light reflected by the body part. The support device is arranged between the body part and the image capture device to transmit at least apart of the reflected light and support the illumination device at the body part side. The image capture device is separated from the support device by the distance at which the image capture device may receive the reflected light.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A vein image capture apparatus comprising:
 an illumination unit that illuminates a body part of a living body; 
 an image pickup unit that captures a vein pattern of the body part by receiving light reflected by the body part; and 
 a support unit disposed between the body part and the image pickup unit, that allows the reflected light to pass and supports the illumination unit at the body part side; 
 wherein the image pickup unit is separated from the support unit by a distance at which the image pickup unit receives the reflected light; and 
 wherein a distance between the support unit and the image pickup unit is variable along a direction of irradiation of the light; and 
 wherein the illumination unit illuminates the body part when the support unit approaches the image pickup unit. 
 
     
     
       2. The vein image capture apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising a control unit that synchronizes illumination timing by the illumination unit with capture timing by the image pickup unit. 
     
     
       3. The vein image capture apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the illumination unit has a light source including a plurality of wavelengths; and 
 the image pickup unit captures the body part depending on the illumination timing of the light source of each wavelength. 
 
     
     
       4. The vein image capture apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the support unit is a window of a car; and 
 brightness of the illumination unit is set so that the brightness becomes lower in a direction toward a ceiling of the car. 
 
     
     
       5. The vein image capture apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein:
 the illumination unit has a contour pattern indicating a capture range; and 
 a plurality of light sources are arranged along the contour pattern. 
 
     
     
       6. The vein image capture apparatus according to  claim 5 , wherein the image pickup unit calculates a distance between the support unit and the image pickup unit based on a size of an image of the captured contour pattern, and corrects an image of the captured vein pattern of the body part based on the calculated distance. 
     
     
       7. The vein image capture apparatus according to  claim 5 , wherein the image pickup unit performs tracking by detecting the contour pattern. 
     
     
       8. A vein image capture method performed by a vein image capture apparatus, the method comprising:
 illuminating, by an illumination unit, a body part of a living body; and 
 capturing, by an image pickup unit, a vein pattern of the body part by receiving light reflected by the body part, 
 wherein 
 the vein image capture apparatus comprises a support unit disposed between the body part and the image pickup unit, that allows the reflected light to pass and supports the illumination unit at the body part side, 
 the image pickup unit is separated from the support unit by a distance at which the image pickup unit receives the reflected light, 
 a distance between the support unit and the image pickup unit is variable along a direction of irradiation of the light, and 
 the illumination unit illuminates the body part when the support unit approaches the image pickup unit.